Originally Posted by
TobiasBB
Hello guys,
I have a bit of an awkward situation - a bit less than one year ago I was traveling in the US and in Utah on a highway I was stopped by a police officer for speeding; He was driving towards me then turning behind me and pulling me over; Now the weird thing is that I set the cruise control to 9 mph over the limit but he gave me a citation for 12mph over the limit and it was a very flat road so either the measurement was incorrect(more likely) or the speedometer of my car showed a too slow speed;
I then wrote a letter to the judge explaining the situation and also wrote an email but they did not believe me and feeling deceived and not taken seriously, I did not pay the fine; Since I returned back to Europe a few days later I did not suffer any consequences; Now thinking about that, it was quite stupid as I just hurt myself with it and also, even if the measurement is wrong, I was still speeding but in that situation I just felt like I am being wrongly accused and no one believes me;
Now today on https :// secure.utah .gov/warrants/index. html I saw that there is actually a warrant for speeding - to be honest I was quite shocked as warrants in Europe are only issued if you really did something bad like beating up a person, fraud etc but certainly not for speeding 12mph over the limit;
I am not planning to travel to the US within the next years but of course this makes me worried about the whole situation...
Considering that i was just driving 9 mph over the limit to make it to the national park by sunset to take some nice picture and now I'm wanted by the police makes me think how quickly that escalated...
So what would actually happen if I decide to try entering the US (via some other state like California, New York etc.)... Will I be rejected at the border? Arrested? Just charged some price?
I am a bit afraid but now paying the fine also feels silly as the 150$ fine probably added up to 500$ or more with additional fees etc.
Aloha Tobias,
Looks like you have gotten lots of good advice already, but just wanted to add that you will probably find out right away about your entry eligibility once you apply for the ESTA visa with CBP... Im assuming that you are from Deutschland which is part of the Visa Waiver Program as provided by the Electronic System for Electronic Authorization (ESTA). Their website states that "
The Visa Waiver Program (VWP) is administered by DHS and enables eligible citizens or nationals of designated countries to travel to the United States for tourism or business for stays of 90 days or less without first obtaining a visa."
Depending on when your prior ESTA expires and when you have to re-apply, the warrant might come up, but this will at least be your first indication that you might have an issue when you arrive.
In the meantime, contact the court that issued the warrant/citation, find out the status of the warrant and make arrangements to pay and be done with it. Then when you arrive here in the US, bring copies of the emails/letters and proof and payment and just have it on hand for inspection by CBP.
When your in Austin, be sure and travel south to Fredicksburg, Texas, great small town about 2 hours South with lots of German heritage and a phenomenal Oktoberfest festival every year.
Prosit!